Book 7, Chapter 36: Small Platoon

A bloody battle like no other was currently unfolding within Sky City.

Sword Qi rained down like a torrential storm, and the powerful waves of energy sending blood splashing in all directions.

This matter concerned the survival of both sides’ respective race, so there was no room for mercy or compassion. The only constant on this battlefield was the constant loss of life.

“Over there!” Ye Fenghan yelled at Chang He and the others as he pointed in a certain direction.

“Why would we go over there?! We should be focusing on destroying these Arcana Towers first!” Chang He replied.

Since they had launched an ambush, there were a few groups of humans who had managed to sneak into Sky City’s third layer before the defenses were raised. Ye Fenghan’s group was one such group.

As one of the Boundless Sect’s most elite groups of soldiers, their speed was extremely quick.

But this also meant that they were now trapped inside of this newly erected barrier. As a result, they were surrounded by Harpies on all sides, who were mercilessly trying to snuff out their lives.

While in this predicament, the few groups that had made it inside could only escape. Chang He’s first reaction was to hurry and destroy the Arcana Towers. The ninety-nine Arcana Towers were the core of Sky City’s defenses, and each one they destroyed would weaken the barrier that was cutting them off from the outside world.

Ye Fenghan, however, obviously thought differently.

“We won’t have enough time to do it,” he said. “The Arcana Towers are too obvious of a target. Moving there will only attract more attention towards us.”

“Then where should we go?”

“Perpetual Daylight Palace!” Ye Fenghan boldly replied.

“Perpetual Daylight Palace!?” Chang He was caught off-guard, but after a moment he delightedly exclaimed, “Yes, it must be filled with treasures! Let’s go and rob them blind!”

Even though they were being pursued as they talked, the squad let out cheers when they heard Chang He’s words. Then, they turned around and started rushing towards Perpetual Daylight Palace.

This idea was a stroke of brilliance on Ye Fenghan’s part.

It was true that the Arcana Towers were an important strategic location for the Harpies’ defenses, but that also meant that they would be the most heavily guarded. The towers would undoubtedly be a meat grinder for the human forces, while Perpetual Daylight Palace would likely have much fewer guards.

As Ye Fenghan’s squad advanced to their new destination, they found to their delight that the resistance they faced was in fact decreasing. They were able to easily slaughter their way to the front of the palace.

The palace was normally protected by a variety of techniques and formations, but Eternal Night had diverted almost all of Sky City’s power towards the third line of defense. Naturally, Perpetual Daylight Palace’s defenses had been neglected, and its only remaining defenses were a few guards who had stayed behind to keep watch on the situation. Those guards couldn’t help but feel faint when they saw nearly a hundred human cultivators flying in their direction. However, even though they knew that they would lose the fight, they still chose to loyally sound the alarm and fight as hard as they could.

Ye Fenghan made a casual sweeping gesture with his arm, and a wave of sword light rushed forwards, decapitating a few of the Harpy guards.

“Hey, leave some for me!” Chang He yelled unhappily.

“I don’t have time to play around with you today,” Ye Fenghan coldly replied before continuing to command the rest of the group. “Everyone, charge in and set this palace on fire. Create as much of a commotion as possible — the bigger, the better.”

Chang He unhappily complained, “Really? Isn’t that just going to get us killed? I think that we should just sneak in and get rich. Stirring up a commotion doesn’t really serve our interests.”

Ye Fenghan fiercely glared at him. “I don’t have anything against getting rich, but don’t forget that we’re in the middle of a war. We shouldn’t only focus on what benefits we’ll get. Can we really come all the way here and leave all the danger to the others? Can we really let them die in battle for our sake?”

Chang He was rendered speechless.

The other squad members lowered their heads silently as well.

Righteousness was actually a fairly rare quality in this time period, and not every leader possessed it either. Even the disciples of the Boundless Sect, who still had a trace of naivete, were slightly selfish. As such, this situation would test the character of any squad’s leader.

Since Ye Fenghan had made his decision, the others had no choice but to comply.

When Ye Fenghan saw that the entire group was now sullen, he added on, “Shanzi, Chenghai, and Longchao. Go take your subordinates and plunder whatever you can from the palace.”

“Understood!” everyone crowed with excitement.

Chang He chuckled. “That’s more like it. We can consider the others, but we also need to worry about ourselves.”

As he spoke, he turned around, ready to brazenly stride into Perpetual Daylight Palace.

Ye Fenghan immediately grabbed him by the collar. “You’re coming with me.”

“Hm? What is it?” Chang He started running to keep up with Ye Fenghan as they navigated the winding hallways of the palace. Along the way, they encountered a few Harpy maidservants, who shrieked in fear. Ye Fenghan ignored them entirely.

“Hey, tell me where we’re going!” Chang He refused to be quiet.

The fires had already been set, but the commotion was not large enough for Ye Fenghan’s tastes yet. Chang He secretly hoped that the fires would spread more slowly so that they could loot more treasures. This was why he was extremely unhappy that Ye Fenghan had dragged him away to run around seemingly aimlessly.

“We’re going to the core,” Ye Fenghan finally replied.

“You mean the imperial storehouses?” Chang He’s eyes lit up.

Su Chen had visited these very same storehouses before, so they were specifically marked on their maps. Chang He remembered this very clearly, but he had never expected to have the opportunity to personally raid the storehouses.

Unexpectedly, Ye Fenghan shot him down once again. “We’re not going there either.”

“Hm? Then where are we going?”

“To the Harpies’ Demon-Executing Cannon,” Ye Fenghan calmly answered.

Chang He felt his mind begin to tremble violently when he heard this answer.

That was when he suddenly remembered that the terrifyingly powerful Demon-Executing Cannon was actually housed within Perpetual Daylight Palace.

This cannon’s power was unrivalled. Even Desolate Beasts would have a hard time withstanding its blows.

If Ye Fenghan wanted to go to a place like that, then his goal was obviously to use the cannon.

In that moment, Chang He knew that he had no other option but to follow along obediently.

The imperial storehouses were very close to the Demon-Executing Cannon. Actually, Chang He could see the storehouses’ doors beckon to him enticingly from nearby.

Chang He felt his heart ache as he watched the entrance to the imperial storehouses fly by in a blur.

These storehouses definitely contained countless riches, the likes of which perhaps even the Boundless Sect had never before seen!

But he had no choice but to pass them by!

With tears in his eyes, Chang He vented all of his anger on the enemies in front of him.

“Charge!”

His Raging Torrent Palms violently surged forwards, instantly killing two Harpies. The power from the palms continued unabated, slamming into a solid iron door.

The door was immediately blown off its hinges, revealing a massive, dark cannon sitting in the vast room behind the door.

The Demon-Executing Cannon!

The Demon-Executing Cannon was being guarded by a squad of Harpies, who were obviously prepared for these two intruders. As soon as the door was blown open, one of the Harpies signaled with the sword in his hand. “Fire!”

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Hundreds of razor-sharp arrows whistled in Ye Fenghan and Chang He’s direction.

These Harpies were all elite archers, and the arrows that they had just fired were Armor-Burying Arrows, which were crafted from an alloy of metal essence and Dark Light Stones. Each arrow also had a miniature Origin Formation that vastly increased their penetrative power. Additionally, the arrowheads were covered in Nightmare Serpent Saliva, which was exceptionally poisonous. This volley of arrows could have felled even a Light Shaking Realm cultivator.

This wave of a hundred arrows cost around a few tens of thousands of Origin Stones just to fire. Such extravagance startled Chang He quite badly.

Ye Fenghan’s eyes flickered as he activated his Seven Bloodline Microcosm Aspect.

The Three-Legged Golden Bird took to the skies as intense heat began to radiate from its body. It felt like a second sun had appeared.

The arrows actually melted away, as they were unable to withstand the intense heat of the “sun.” Even though Ye Fenghan’s Golden Bird Aspect had not yet reached the stage of Great Success, which meant that the arrows were not completely melted, it was still powerful enough to destroy the Origin Formations inscribed on the arrows. The Nightmare Serpent Saliva was burnt away, and the even the arrows’ speed decreased significantly.

“Hey, do something!” Ye Fenghan cried out.

“Oh!” Chang He suddenly broke out of his reverie and raised a barrier.

This barrier seemed exceptionally plain and unremarkable.

This simple barrier, however, easily stopped all of the Armor-Burying Arrows. These arrows, which could purportedly penetrate all the way through a mountain, only clattered uselessly against the nondescript barrier. Their destructive power was completely nullified.

Additionally, the Golden Bird Aspect’s specialty lay not in defense, but rather in offense!

Ye Fenghan flipped his hand over. “Go!”

The Three-Legged Golden Bird let out a long keening cry as it rushed forwards.

The Harpy general pointed at it as he loudly commanded, “Stop that creature!”

The Harpy soldiers began to hurl Arcana Techniques at it, but how could they possibly block the Three-Legged Golden Bird’s fierce flames?

It relentlessly charged towards them like a supercharged fireball. When it exploded, it tore a number of the Harpies to pieces.

“Wow.” Chang He let out a long whistle as he commented, “That’s an impressive amount of power. I don’t remember it being so strong before.”

“The Sect Master gave me a vial of the Golden Bird’s bloodline, which raised its strength,” Ye Fenghan replied straightforwardly.

This was the truth behind Ye Fenghan’s sudden surge in power.

The Aspects that Su Chen had developed were not wholly separated from the bloodline system.

People without bloodlines could still utilize the power of Aspects.

Possessing a bloodline, however, could further amplify the power of that Aspect.

Actually, Su Chen had never planned on completely removing the Bloodline Nobility Clans. His goal had been to merely remove the restriction that one needed a bloodline to cultivate. Having the power of bloodlines to support humanity’s strength was obviously a good thing.

Yes, this was the position that the Bloodline Nobility Clans would occupy in the future.

Cultivation would become the main way humans increased their power, but the Bloodline Nobility Clans would still have a reason to exist.

As Ye Fenghan dealt with the scattered Harpy guards, Chang He charged forwards to claim control of the Demon-Executing Cannon!

“Haha! The Demon-Executing Cannon now belongs to us. It’ll be exhilarating when we use this on the Harpies!” Chang He roared with laughter.

Yes, firing the Demon-Executing Cannons at the Harpies inside of the city would definitely accelerate the destruction of the Harpies’ defenses. This would be an important contribution!

Just as Chang He leapt towards the Demon-Executing Cannon, however, Ye Fenghan suddenly yelled, “Be careful!”

A sharp spear suddenly appeared out of nowhere, aimed straight at Chang He.

Suddenly, Chang He realized that he had nowhere to retreat to.

A wave of pressure enveloped him, making it impossible for him to move at all.

Only one kind of person was capable of pulling something like this off — a Tenth Ring Arcana Master.

“It’s over!” Chang He cried out, his expression full of regret and despair.

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